Happy Dependence Day

Happy Dependence Day!

“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities

And bore our sicknesses."” – Matthew 8:16-17

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

America-the first nation to begin as "a Christian nation"-was colonized by people seeking to worship God freely, they established schools so everyone could read the Bible, founded universities to train ministers, and wrote laws reflecting biblical truth.


America declares "In God We Trust" on every dime and dollar-one nation under God, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created free and equal. America's first political document, the Mayflower Compact, said:  having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith,…, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body … for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid.


American shores afforded religious liberty just as missionary-minded Protestants were being harried out of Europe. Puritans, Presbyterians, Quakers, Moravians . . . all seeking freedom from persecution. Their ideals came from their Bibles. Every group brought the Scriptures in their own language-English Baptists, Swedish Lutherans, French Huguenots, Scotch Covenanters, and German Mennonites.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12).

Our nation started out as a nation whose purpose was the advancement of the Christian Faith. A nation, who at first consumed everything in its path for God, now does so with the same fervor and sense of entitlement for its new god, ourselves.


What does any of this have to do with what we read earlier in Matthew 8?

“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities

And bore our sicknesses."” – Matthew 8:16-17

A lot is going on in Matthew 8. Jesus has just finished the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is now among the multitude not only teaching and preacing the Word of God but moving along the people, loving on them and healing them. Matthew recognizes this as a fulfillment of Isiasah 53 which talked about how the Messiah would heal all those brought before him.

This section of Matthew's Gospel shows four different people being healed, each one different from the other.


i. Different people were healed.

- A Jew with no social or religious privileges.

- A Gentile officer of the army occupying and oppressing Israel.

- A woman related to one of Jesus' devoted followers.

- Unnamed multitudes.


ii. Their requests were made in different ways.

- A direct request from the sufferer, made in his own faith.

- A request from one man for another, made in faith on behalf of a suffering man.

- No request was made because Jesus came to the sufferer, so there was no evidence of faith from the healed.

- Sufferers that were brought to Jesus, with different kinds of faith.


iii. Jesus used different methods to heal.

- Jesus used a touch that was forbidden.

- Jesus used a word spoken from afar.

- Jesus used a tender touch.

- Jesus used a variety of unnamed methods.


Confession time. I struggle with my faith at times. I know what the Bible says, I know it pretty well, I have a Masters Degree specifically in Christian Studies. Yet, there are times where I just want to worry myself sick about a particular situation in my life or in yours. It can go on for weeks in some instances where I have trouble eating, sleeping or doing anything else. God just refuses to operate on my time table for some reason. I’ve argued with God that if He didn’t want to do it He could just give me the money so I could fix stuff. However, He still refuses to make me a billionaire even though I have assured him I would be gracious and benevolent from my private island in my gigantic mansion with my solid gold toilets. You see I just want to fix things, specifically I want the power to fix things the way I think they should be. Yet, God never once calls us to fix things. God calls on us to love one another. People aren’t projects to be fixed but souls to be loved.


We look at the world today and we realize that things are wrong but then we mistakenly think that we, or some other human agency can fix it! Racial tension, economic instability, moral collapses, wars and threats of war. We are in need of a movement of God! We have to stop talking politics and start getting broken over the hurt and pain of a world without God! A solution is not coming from Raleigh, or DC, or winning the lottery. It doesn’t matter our race, creed, or nationality. It doesn’t matter our age, gender or sexual orientation. It doesn’t matter where we fall on the political spectrum the answer and the hope is not legislation, policy, procedure or wealth redistribution! The answer and the hope is only in the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because when God moves people change from the inside out and it is real genuine lasting transformation.


Our nation is sick, full of demons and every other wicked thing you can think of. We are not a nation who is dependent upon the Lord. Christ can take our infirmities and bear our sicknesses both as individuals and as a nation but they first have to be brought to Him. That’s what tonight’s message is about. We are bringing ourselves, our loved ones, our soldiers, our government, our nation to Christ that all might be Healed.

While we celebrate our independence this week let's us not forget The One on which we are eternally dependent!

Happy Dependence Day everyone!

Sola Scriptura!
Pastor Glen